Jatni: With the demand for meat increasing every day, illegal shops are mushrooming in this municipality in Khurda district. Rules and regulations are not being followed while setting up the stores.
It should be stated here that the Jatni municipality does not have a slaughterhouse. Hence chicken, goat and sheep are being cut at makeshift locations, even near religious places and educational institutions. Most of these illegal shops are located at the Town Hall area, Durga Market, Block Square, Retang Colony, Hata Bazaar, Haribhaina Sqaure and Kudiari.
The open slaughtering of animals is having a detrimental effect on the minds of school-going children. Also the buyers have no idea about the quality of the meat as no health checks are done on the animals before selling their flesh. Hence there is always the chance of contracting diseases by consuming unhygienic meat.
Former Jatni municipality chairman Gouri Prasad Singh informed that during his tenure an abattoir was opened at the foot of Bachhara hill in 1988. “The municipality provided all the facilities and also was in charge of maintaining a hygienic atmosphere within it. A veterinary doctor had also been appointed and he would visit the slaughterhouse daily to check on the health of the animals. Only after his approval, the animals were then allowed to be sold,” said Singh.
“But the slaughterhouse did not run even for a week due to non-cooperation of the vendors. They did it so they could operate from any part of the town with impunity,” added Singh.
When contacted, executive officer, Jatni municipality, Tapan Kumar Mohanty said a process has been initiated to set up a slaughterhouse. Efforts are on to acquire land, he informed. Regarding the shops polluting the locality through indiscriminate disposal of waste, Mohanty said the matter would be treated seriously.
PNN